​This year I ran over 665 miles (according to Strava). While I did not explicitly set a mileage goal for 2018, I was hoping to get over 500 miles and I sailed clear over that.

So to make 2019 more interesting for me, I’m going to now set a goal to run 1000 miles.

One. Thousand. Miles.

Since I already covered 665 miles this year, I’m sure a bunch of you are thinking, “What are you stressing about? That’s just a little more than what you ran in 2018.”

If you’re thinking that, you would be right. In pure mileage terms, it isn’t that much more. For me, the main block is more mental than anything else. I’ve never run that much in my life and who knows that might happen to me or my body in the coming year. It might be easy for some but to me, it’s still a metaphorical mountain.

On top of the unknowns, I’m trying to balance my time with other training such as swimming, cycling, strength training and plyometrics. More importantly, I’m also first a husband and a father. That’s a lot of balls to juggle in the air and more opportunities to drop something.

But then again...

I never ran 665 miles in a single year and I did it this year.

I never ran a half marathon and I did two of them this year.

I never completed a duathlon and I did two of them this year.

I could not swim the length of a pool and now I can swim over 1000 yards without stopping (albeit poorly).

I did this all while being a husband and a father.

This year has been a year of firsts for me and as long as I keep setting goals like this, I’ll keep pushing myself to be a better me.

Thank you 2018, you made me a better person. Let’s do this 2019.

Viva Las Vegas!

I capped off my year of endurance events with the Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas. I was lucky enough to have my mother watch my children, which allowed my wife to join me on this mini vacation.

Do you still consider it a vacation if you have to run 13.1 miles?

This was a very different event from the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon that I ran back in May. The obvious difference being the size difference between the two events. I forgot how many people ran on the vineyard but I’m sure it wasn’t 40,000, which was how many ran in Vegas. Having a race with this many people was extremely intimidating to me. Where do I go? When should I get there? Which color group am I? Which wave in my color group do I belong to? WHERE ARE THE BATHROOMS?

With over 40,000 participants, you tend to get a different answer from each person you ask these question.

So how did I feel about this race? Well, let’s start with the good.

For an event of this magnitude; it was fairly well organized. I can complain about the size all I want but in the end, I did find out where I was supposed to go. Me feeling intimidated is more of an issue with me rather than an issue with the event itself.

For large sections of the run, it was extremely entertaining. The strip was closed down and runners were able to run right in the middle of the street all the way from the “Welcome to Las Vegas” sign to downtown Las Vegas at Fremont Street. The main section of the strip that everyone is familiar with was all lit up.

The run itself was fairly easy. The course only had about 200 feet of elevation total and the roads for the majority of the run were in very good condition.

Now for some of the challenges...

I’m a morning runner so shifting my long run to the evening was a big change. When do I eat? What do I eat during the day of the race? Do I try and sleep before the race or just stay up the whole time? All of this was exasperated by the fact that I was still on Eastern Standard time and Las Vegas is in the Pacific Standard timezone. Although to be fair, this is not the fault of the event either - I could have planned this better.

Another element I did not plan well for; the weather and climate. Running in New England, cold temperatures were something I knew I could run in without an issue. However, what I did not plan and train for was the desert humidity - or extreme lack of humidity. I woke up everyday with a dry and sore throat. My lips were chapped by the end of the trip. This changed my hydration approach the days leading up to the race and during the race. Again, something I should have planned for more.

I should have brought some chapstick…

My last challenge with the Vegas half marathon was gaps of Rock and/or Roll through large parts of the course. Realistically there’s no way the organizers can light and entertain every stretch of the 13.1 mile course but the event certainly tried to make it sound like it was like that. The reality of it was that after you got past the Mandalay Bay hotel heading south, there’s not much after that until you hit the Las Vegas sign and then turn around. The same can be said when heading northbound on the strip too; after Treasure Island it was fairly quiet and dark. In fact, certain parts were so dark that, if you weren’t careful, you could have stepped on another runner.

This blog entry is getting a bit long winded and I don’t want to seem like I’m rambling (even though I am). Despite what it sounds like, I really did have fun. This is not something you can do all the time and I certainly recommend runners to give it a try at least once. If you’re a fan of Sin City, then this may be something you’ll want to do on a regular. For me though? Once is enough. I learned a ton from it, I hit my personal best, and I got a mini vacation with my wife - I’d say that is a good event.

After completing the Martha’s Vineyard half marathon, the question that I was asked the most was…

“What are you going to do next?”

Aside from taking it easy for a bit, the answer was actually pretty easy; the Las Vegas Rock 'n’ Roll Half Marathon.

To be honest, I thought this race was going to be my first half marathon. I didn’t think I would be ready by the time the vineyard half came around. This just goes to show that you never know what you’re capable of until you try.

However, one thing that didn’t sit easy with me about running the Vegas half was that taking the time and money to fly out there just to run a race seemed a bit selfish. This was going to cost a fair bit of money and my wife and I would be leaving our kids at home.

I don’t care what people say - Vegas is not a child-friendly vacation spot.

I was actually going to pass on it until I saw that I could participate in this race raising money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. This was what I was looking for, this was my next goal. This gave me the chance to take something that I enjoyed doing and doing something good with it. 

This made my running more than about me.

So now I’m asking the readers of my blog to take a look at what St Jude has done for countless children and their families and see if there’s any amount you can spare to help me raise money for a worthy cause. 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart - http://heroes.stjude.org/runningofthenerd

First and foremost I want to thank the great people working on Martha’s Vineyard during the weekend of the half and full marathon. Everyone I met was so helpful and polite. I understand that this is a tourist spot and their livelihood depends on their hospitality but the people I ran into there genuinely went out of their way to help me when I needed it.

Pre-race day.

I arrived on the island the day before the race to pick up my bib and swag. The tent for this was at Waban park, which was also the finish line of the race. There was a single tent with different sections based on your bib number. You had to find your number by looking at this giant printout sheet on a separate table. My suggestion to the organizers is to email the numbers out beforehand to reduce this overhead for some of the runners. After figuring out your number, getting your bib and swag was easy enough - no drama there.

Morning of the race.

Transportation to the starting line from Oak Bluffs, where I was staying, was easy to get to and there seemed to be more than enough buses to shuttle the runners from Oak Bluffs to the high school. Once at the high school though, things seemed to get a bit chaotic. Everyone was packed into the cafeteria or hallways and there seemed to be people standing in lines but not entirely sure why they were in line. Since this was my first race, I wasn’t sure where I was supposed to go next or do next. Luckily everyone there was very nice and I was able to get some pointers from some more seasoned runners.

I headed outside about 20 minutes before the race to warm up and get ready. I wasn’t really sure where the gear drop off was - cue me asking around some more. After finding the truck and dropping off my bag - I was good to go.

The race was broken up into 3 waves; fast runners up front, medium paced runners in wave 2, and yours truly in wave 3. The waves and their pace range were clearly marked so you knew somewhat where you were supposed to be. There were also a ton of pacers with signs there too so you could just find the one with roughly your time and hang out there.

The issue I had with the waves was that it really wasn’t a wave. It seemed as though once the race started it was just a slow push forward to the starting line. It felt a bit like cattle being herded towards an opening in the fence.

Moo….

The race itself.

The race itself was pretty straight forward. Aside from some initial confusion of where to actually run (jogging path or the actual street) everything was clearly marked. There were a ton of water stations staged throughout the course and some of them gave out some gels too. I did notice only one first aid station though but maybe there were more and I just didn’t notice any other ones.

One major annoyance that I found out after the race was over was that the tracking for the runners was not working. I don't know what was wrong but my wife and family weren't able to track me at the designated checkpoints.

At the finish, everything again was clearly marked and there was a ton of food, drinks, and first aid at Waban park. No complaints there. All in all, it was a fairly well organized race.

So would I run it again?

I thought about this long and hard and decided that I would not run this again if the logistics remained the same.

Don’t get me wrong - this is a great race and I would recommend it at least once to other runners because running on the vineyard and along the coast is breathtakingly gorgeous. However, the race is scheduled very early in the tourist season and the weather is likely going to be a game of chance every year. Also, from what everyone tells me, the island doesn’t get to 100% operational capacity until memorial day weekend. At least half of the stores or restaurants had signs saying that they won’t be open until late May.

Now if you’re there to just run the course and go home, then this will probably be fine for you. However, I wanted to make a weekend out of it so I left the island feeling a bit disappointed. I get it though, at the height of tourist season, the cost to block off hotel rooms and other logistics will probably be prohibitively expensive for many people so they had to get in early, which is why I don’t fault the organizers.

However, for me, I ran it and checked off a bucket list item. I don’t think I have a need to run it again myself.

If you haven’t subscribed to my instagram account yet, please check it out to see some of the sights and food I had while there.

Places I would recommend on the vineyard if you do go:

• Martha’s Vineyard Surfside Hotel (Melissa there is awesome)
• The Cardboard Box (amazing dinner and drinks)
• Martha's Vineyard Gourmet Café & Bakery (late night donuts and giant apple fritters)
• Slice of Life (great food and awesome desserts)